Trees for Australian Gardens

The right tree in Cairns is rarely the right tree in Hobart, and plenty of good money is wasted ignoring that. This page gathers trees proven across Australian gardens and helps you shortlist by the thing that matters most: whether a species actually suits the climate you garden in.

Australia spans tropical, subtropical, warm temperate, cool temperate and arid zones, and each rewards different choices. In the humid north, look for trees that shrug off summer downpours and fungal pressure. Along the subtropical east coast, most of this collection will thrive, though coastal gardens should weigh salt laden wind. In Melbourne, Adelaide and the southern inland, frost hardiness becomes the filter, and anything tender needs a warm microclimate or a pass. Arid and semi arid gardeners should prioritise deep rooted, drought tolerant species and plant in autumn so roots establish before the heat. Wherever you are, a tree planted at 1.5 to 2 metres tall usually overtakes an advanced specimen planted at 3 metres within a few seasons, because smaller stock establishes faster, so buy for roots and vigour rather than instant height.

• Know your rough frost profile: even two or three frosts a year rules out truly tropical species.
• Humidity matters as much as temperature, and dry summer climates suit Mediterranean style trees that sulk in Brisbane.
• Check each product page for the listed climate suitability rather than assuming your neighbour's success will transfer between suburbs at different elevations.
• Autumn is the best planting window in the south, while the north can plant almost year round outside the wet season peak.

For a purely local palette, our Australian natives collection covers species that evolved for these conditions, and the full range with delivery details lives at buy trees online. Two much loved examples from opposite ends of the style spectrum are explored in our jacaranda care guide and tuckeroo care guide. Still unsure where to start? Answer a few questions in our plant finder and let it narrow the field for you.